Welcome to the Galloping
Goose Regional Trail

The
Goose is your trail. You can cycle, walk, run, jog, in-line
skate, wheelchair, push a stroller, walk the dog, ride a horse,
commute to work, spend a quiet Sunday afternoon, push yourself
through the entire trail, or take a 15 minute break on this
multi-use, 100 kilometre former railway line, now a regional
trail.
If it isn't a motorized vehicle, except for a motorized wheelchair,
you can do it on the Goose. The Goose also knows every landscape
on southern Vancouver Island. You can travel past the finest:
a quiet cove, a hidden lake, rocky outcrops, marshland, canyon
land, skunk cabbage swampland, tall Douglas Fir forest, rural
farmland, urban back streets, and waterways. This is the Capital
Region District at its best.

Selkirk
Trestle to Switch Bridge The Galloping Goose Regional Trail
begins here at the Selkirk Trestle. However, trailside kilometre
markings are measured from the Johnson Street bridge to account
for future expasion of the trail linking downtown Victoria about
one kilometre to the south. The Selkirk Trestle -- a 300 metre
long, fir and hemlock trestle -- spans the Selkirk waters, a
bulge in the narrow saltwater inlet curving north-west from
Victoria's Inner Harbour to the Gorge and Portage inlets.

Though
signs of a changing downtown Victoria dominate the southern
view, the immediate environs are mostly tranquil, with lush
poplars, willows and maples pushing to the shoreline and softening
the urban landscape.

The
trestle itself is five metres wide --ample room for the hundreds
of strollers and cyclists on a Sunday afternoon outing. There's
even room for the occaisional fisher casting over the railing
for herring. Though the trestle is wide, the surface can get
slippery after wet weather. If you're on wheels, check your
speed and watch out for other trail users. You can access the
bridge at either end: from the south, take Tyee Road to Arthur
Currie Lane; from the north, drop down from Gorge Road East,
a block west of Jutland Road. From the bridge, in rapid succession,
the trail scurries under the Gorge Road East Bridge and the
Burnside Road East Bridge. A huge mural brightens up one of
the massive, cast concrete bridges.

The
Goose emerges into the warehouse and light industry district
just west of Douglas Street. It's stop-and-go here. The trail
crosses six urban roads in a row. In many of them, you must
yield to road traffic, so stay alert. Up ahead: the Switch Bridge.
The Switch Bride, a 100 metre span across the Trans-Canada Highway,
marks another important milestone in the life of the Goose.
Until the Switch Bridge, the busy highway blocked flow along
the Goose. When the bridge opened in 1996, the Goose gained
easy, uninterrupted access to Victoria. Switch Bridge to Quadra
Street -- The Saanich Spur At the north end of the Switch Bridge,
the trail forks. The right fork bends north-east and becomes
the Saanich Spur (2.3 km in length) of the Goose. Again, it
quickly ducks under two major bridges: this time at Blanshard
Street and Vernon Avenue. Your now in the heart of Saanich,
the CRD's largest municipality with a population of 105,000.

The
Goose skirts around the southern perimeter of Swan Lake Christmas
Hill Nature Sanctuary -- a great opportunity for a side trip
(sorry, no bicycles) if you're on foot. The verdant willows
and hints of marsh wildlife beckon the asphalt traveler to explore
further. With Swan Lake to the north, the trail crosses over
the Brett Avenue Trestle and 500 metres beyond, the Swan Lake
Trestle, both remnants of the former Canadian Northern Pacific
Railway (and later the CNR) line that ran through Saanich from
1917 to 1990. Just Past the Swan Lake Trestle, at Quadra Street,
the Galloping Goose abruptly ends. -- for now. Future plans
include expansion of the Goose into a regional trail system
that continues up Lochside Drive and on to Sidney.

You can travel
for nearly 100 kilometres on the Galloping Goose Regional Trail.
You can cycle, walk, or ride a horse along this former rail
line past some of B.C.’s finest scenery.

Walk
the Goose.
You can spot bald eagles. Or turkey vultures floating on a thermal.
You have time to watch a deer in the sword ferns.

Ride
the Goose on Horseback.
You and your horse get into a rhythm. A low broadleaf maple brushes
your shoulder. You ride past Nootka rose splashed with pastel
reds.

The Goose knows every landscape on Southern Vancouver Island.
Starting in Victoria, it travels the backroads to Saanich. Then
it slices through the urban setting of View Royal, Langford,
and Colwood. Yet in a delightful surprise, ferns, shrubs, and
rock outcrops shield you from much of the concrete. At Metchosin,
the trail moves lazily past small farms surrounded by hills.
Steep, rocky slopes march down to the trailside. Occasionally
the Goose drops into a creek bed. you can stop on the bridge
and watch cool water flow over igneous rock. It has now been
extended from Leechtown north of Sooke to Sidney.

At Matheson Lake Regional Park, you can catch a glimpse of dark
water guarded by steep slopes. Watch for bald eagles and ravens.
Stop for lunch here, rest a while, and enjoy this peaceful lake.
The Goose then enters Roche Cove Regional Park. Coastal Douglas
fir and sword fern line the trail. You can use this park as
a jumping off point or as an end to a pleasant outing. Toilets
and ample parking are just a few kilometres ahead off Gillespie
Road.

To the west, in Sooke the trail skirts the Sooke Basin, clinging
to each headland. Down on the water, you can watch buffleheads
and Barrow’s goldeneye bobbing on the swell. Across the Basin,
the hills of East Sooke Regional Park rise out of the water.
This is the Goose at its best.

Near the mouth of the Sooke River, the Galloping Goose veers
north and climbs out of the coastal plain and up the canyon.
Far below, the Sooke River plunges past potholes, back eddies,
and hustles out to sea. The original railway tracks once spanned
Charters and Todd Creeks. Today only the tall wooden and iron
trestles remain. The view from the trail perched on the side
of the canyon slopes is spectacular.

The Goose steepens ever so slightly on this last section. Finally;
it levels out at Leechtown, an abandoned mining town. This section
of the trail north along the Sooke River is less populated and
more wild. Cougars, and deer may be part of your Galloping Goose
experience.

How
to get there...

The official trail heart is in Victoria, at the west end of the
Johnson Street bridge. But you don’t have to start there. Other
access points are located all along the trail.